Investigations Skeleton Concept and ideas Learning Deck Flashcards
How close to the Roman Catholic Church come to meeting true human equality?
The Roman Catholic Church struggle to meet such a concept of equality, as they have many restrictions (as to be discussed later) on the opportunities women can have both in the church and beyond
How close are the LDS to meeting true human equality?
The LDS come closer than the Roman Catholic Church, but still do not meet the definition for true human equality, while women have many opportunities within the faith, there are still many roles they can’t hold due to their gender
What are the Roman Catholic Church’s attitude to women in leadership?
Women are traditionally considered to not be leaders, or trusted in leadership by the church doctrine, However there are some women in leadership, predominantly in health and charity roles.
Catholic women were in some cases provided access to education, in health and teaching, before non Catholic women were, due to Catholic education systems. The Catholic Church has a very hardline doctrine on women as priests, it simply won’t be done, in accordance to the sacrament of holy orders
What are the legal requirements for equality?
Gender equality comes under the equality act 2010:
- Gender equality under the equality act revolves around the prevention sex discrimination. This is when you are treated differently because of your sex in one of the situations that are covered by the Equality Act. The treatment could be a one-off action or as a result of a rule or policy based on sex. It doesn’t have to be intentional to be unlawful.
There are however exceptions to this rule, and situations where this can be considered legal
What is the religious exemption to the ‘Equalities act 2010’
For the purposes of religion, the sixth exemption is interesting.
The exemption: a religious organisation can sometimes restrict employment to one sex if the role is for religious purposes.
For example, an orthodox synagogue can require its rabbi to be a man.
In this case treating women differently, or not allowing women to occupy the same roles is legal
What is another piece of scripture that the LDS place great weight in within their teachings?
The Book of Mormon - and the book of proverbs
Why are there no women in the Catholic leadership system? (Apart from the obvious)
The Roman Catholic Church leadership hierarchy is entirely without women, due to the catholic concept of the sacrament of holy orders, which restricts the ordination of women as it can only be given to men, as the disciples as followers of Jesus and teachers of the faith were all male.
How does the leadership structure of the LDS differ from the Roman Catholic Church structure? (Women)
The Church of the Latter Day Saints (LDS) offer a far wider range of leadership roles to women within their various church auxiliaries, and with the exception of the general young men’s auxiliary all boards of the LDS General auxiliaries have at least one woman leader on their board, with a recent example of the appointment of three women within posts that women had never previously occupied
(Bonnie Oscarson Case Study)
While the LDS clearly do better than the Catholics - is there still inequality in the church leadership system?
Yes, there is still inequality in terms of access to opportunity within the realm of church leadership within the LDS, as none of the living prophets have been women, and women cannot receive the Aaronic priesthood, which prevents them from accessing some church and stake leadership positions.
Under what grounds for exemption are religious groups allowed to restrict access to leadership positions under the equality act 2010?
under the provision of good and services exemption list, religious organisations, that being groups that exist to facilitate the practice of religious beliefs, or those who work to ‘advance’ or teach a religious belief system, are exempt from some aspects of the act, including the requirement of the equal opportunities for appointment regardless of gender, if their religious teachings only allow for or require people of one gender to hold the position.
What is the significance of the interpretation of religious texts within the context of women in leadership?
the scripture is set within and was written at a time during which gender equality was not the case, where women were not leaders or largely socially active, and often the voices of scripture such as the Book of Mormon or the bible have views that reflect this societal zeitgeist. Furthermore the teachings of such texts are often taken literally and while some of this leads to the positive valuing of women, with the LDS placing great weight on the book of proverbs which describes a virtuous woman as having a ‘price far above rubies’, the interpretation of religious texts has, especially in the past, made up the backbone of some of the more traditional and less liberal Christian leadership ideals
